Brian Solis

Brian Solis is globally recognized as one of the original and most
prominent thought leaders in social media. A digital analyst and visionary, Solis has influenced the effects of new media on the convergence of marketing, communications, and traditional media. He is Principal of FutureWorks, an award-winning New Media agency in Silicon Valley, and has led interactive and social programs for Fortune 500 companies, notable celebrities, and Web 2.0 startups. Brian’s blog is ranked among the world’s business and marketing elite.

His blog, PR 2.0 is among the top 1.5% of all blogs tracked by Technorati and is ranked as one of the leading voices in the Ad Age Power 150 index of worldwide marketing bloggers. He also runs bub.blicio.us and contributes to TechCrunch, BrandWeek, and WebProNews.

New PR and Marketing
Brian Solis has been actively writing about new PR since the mid 90s to document how the Web was redefining the communications industry — he coined PR 2.0 along the way. He was among the original thought leaders working to defend and define “Social Media” as a definitive media category.

He has dedicated his free time to helping PR professionals adapt to the new fusion of PR, Web marketing, and community relations. He’s a strong supporter of fusing social sciences in Social Media Marketing and New PR and believes that communications always comes down to people talking to people instead of companies to influencers and then to customers.

Brian co-authored “Putting the Public back in Public Relations,” with Deirdre Breakenridge published by Financial Times Press, and with Geoff Livingston, Solis released “Now is Gone”, an early, award-winning book that helps businesses learn how to engage in Social Media. He has also written several ebooks on the subjects of Social Media, New PR, Customer Service, and Blogger Relations.

Among new marketing tools and philosophies, Solis is also an expert and thought-leader in the Web and new technology landscape. He documents the rapid evolution of products and services and how businesses and consumers can actually use these tools. He is an active leader in spotlighting and cultivating new startups and emerging visionaries in Silicon Valley and beyond.

Solis is also co-organizer of the monthly Silicon Valley NewTech Meetups and also donates his expertise, time, and resources to promoting and advising San Francisco NewTech Meetup, various BarCamps, STIRR, SF Beta, Twiistup, TechCrunch, TechCocktail, DEMO, Office 2.0, and Dealmaker Media events.